There are ways to scab together adapters, but it's all likely to perform worse than either OEM setup.

.

Click to expand...

If the Adapter is well made then its most of the Time the new Engine or the Carbs are not correct ajust that make the power worse .
Air flow over two seperate Intake Ports is different to the Airflow over 1 Split type Port .
Carbs need to ajust for that .

Did Zombiestomp do some kind of single carb conversion a while back to his RFVC?

Click to expand...

It seems like he did but I'm not sure.

At one time, I had an XR650L engine in my '84 XL600. I used a 38 mm Mikuni flat slide carb with a universal Uni foam filter clamped to the carb. It worked fine. The filter did rub on the shock spring though.
The Mikuni barely fit between the tank and frame. I'm pretty sure the stock XR650L would not fit.

So I've never done fork seals before, but am good with a wrench. I'd like to order parts and have them ready for when I pull the forks. I've got 2 ?s first is what parts should I replace looks like part 22 on the phish are any other parts needed? and how much oil to put back in?
my fork seals are leaking. (I did seach this thread on fork seals)
Thanks

Here's my $200 basket case XL600. I repainted the tank with an Elsinore theme. Some top end work, new cam chain and intake valves, thats about it. I can start it on the 5th kick (no decomp release). Torque like a John Deere. But too big and no electric start for trails riding. So this will become a retro-motard as I now have an 04 DRZ400E as my trail/dirt bike.

Here's my $200 basket case XL600. I repainted the tank with an Elsinore theme. Some top end work, new cam chain and intake valves, thats about it. I can start it on the 5th kick (no decomp release). Torque like a John Deere. But too big and no electric start for trails riding. So this will become a retro-motard as I now have an 04 DRZ400E as my trail/dirt bike.

Thanks for the reply shortlife.I'm planning on replacing all the cables,changing the brake fluid etc.I'm going to try and take the black paint off the frame also.Hopefully the Honda red is baked on and durable.I paid $1100 for the bike and plan on spending another $300-$500 setting her up to ride. I figure for under $2000 I'll have a pretty nice bike for playing on dirt roads.

the honda paint is fairly tough stuff but....id expect to have to repaint anyway....if you want something tough and dont feel like powder coating see if you can find someone who sells tractor paint..the international harvestor red is close enuf..and tough as nails but you may need to hit up an ag store for it

I'm not too awful worried about the black on the frame.I'm more concerned about the black on the carbs and making sure all the cables and front brake line is good.The bike doesn't look that bad.As long as she's functional I'll be happy.Cosmetics come second.

If the paint on the carbs is just cheap spray bomb stuff a good carb cleaner will usually take it off. I prefer Berkibile 2+2 Gum Cutter in the blue and red can, some of the others like Gumout and store brands seem pretty weak.

CRC red can is tough stuff too..gumout leaves an oily residue behind...brake clean will do as well but you better have all the rubber off or void hitting it lol....it tends to swell up rubber for a lil bit before it urns back to normal

something i should note for ANYONE striping paint....a brake fluid soak is generaly safe on 95% of most items..with the exception being certain plastics..specificly that of turn signals and tail lights...but is ultra safe on other plastics..as ive been using the same tub (a cut down antifreeze jug) for doing 24 and 25th scale model cars for over 15 years..and only had it soften the plastic a few times..but after a wash its as good as new..ive used brake fluid to remove paint from tins, plastic bike fenders, pretty well everything under the sun..but it will disolve most tail lights

When we first got the 86 I didn't know much about the oil flowing to head issue and ended up running around on the bike for 20 or 30 minutes with no oil, none, getting to the top end. I had been wondering if that did any damage, and after riding around for 500 miles or so she started getting hard to start. Pulled the engine out and found the cam and rockers were ground up. The Center journal in the head had scoring as did the mating journal in the rocker cover although that was much lighter.

I did find what looks like a decent head, valve cover, and rockers over on E-bay, so those are on the way, but I am still looking for the cam. I could send the original to Megacam but the total cost is somewhere north of $270 ( the center has to be repaired which adds to the cost as well as California Tax). So I am looking for a less expensive alternative; for reference, the prices listed on the fiches for a new one is around $140, which of course are no longer available.
This was posted over in the thread Early (85-87) XR600R/XL600R Camshaft options ???

It may be a bit more expensive but if you change cam covers and some rockers you can use the later model cam,I did it on an XBR500 or GB500 to you guys, as you know it is the same engine as the early singles without the auto decomp, I wanted a manual decomp as i made it into a 600 with higher comp for a race engine and I had a later model cover and cam.

Click to expand...

So I am wondering if anyone else has gone this route and what if any modifications would have to be done. There seem to be plenty of rocker covers, rockers, and cams available for anything newer than 87. If not I am still in the market for a cam.

I have a xl600 that I am thinking about selling due to lack of time to work on it. Since I bought it I have been working 7 days a week if anyone is interested let me know.. parting out is a possibility but it does have a clean title. For pics check out project deep doodoo thread.

As far as finding an OE XL600 cam goes your up the creek without a paddle. I just checked E-Bay England and Germany. No cams there either. Your only option is a Mega Cycle regrind/repair.

BTW...They will not warranty the cam unless you do the rockers also. By the time all is said and done it's $500.00 for the cam and rockers. BTDT

Click to expand...

Steve, thanks for checking those overseas sites, that's something I never thought of. I will keep looking for a few days but if nothing comes up I will go with Mega Cycle. I didn't know there was a warranty either. They did say I could use the OEM rockers but recommended a high zinc content oil like Red Line if I was going to do that.
All the above is for the 86. When I put the 83 back together I replaced one rocker with an NOS one and the cam had one lobe that was just at the lowest end of the spec. It makes me really interested in that idea of replacing the rocker cover with one off an XR600 and then going with a post 1988 XR cam to put on the 83. With this possibility in mind I did some checking on E-bay today, the cost of the Rocker cover with rockers plus a cam would still only be half the cost of a regrinding the original cam and rockers in the 83 XL. Plus any additional cams or rockers, if they were ever needed, would be of the easy to find post 88 variety.

This was the first time I come across that particular idea so I am hoping for some feedback about potential problems going that route. Things like, are the cam profiles the same, do you need different rockers then either the XL or XR, and will the rocker cover bolt to the same frame brackets or would I have to fabricate new ones? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

My Haynes manual says the pin has to be removed, it says it should just pull out.
HTH

Click to expand...

The factory manual says to do that for the manual decompressor lever, and that one came out just fine. For the kickstarter decompressor lever, the manual says to disconnect the spring and remove the kickstarter valve lifter lever, but it doesn't seem to be that easy.

I need help diagnosing the issues i am having with my xl600r...the bike would not start, had spark, some of the resitance specifications were off (not by much), but after reading, and reading and reading i replaced the stator. After the stator, NO SPARK? Now i am very confused as to why i had spark before, now i do not? I guess the only 2 items left would be CDI/Igtion coil? I really dont want to replace these 2 again....does anyone have any other suggestions, testing methods etc to help?